Chris Haberl: Did Centaurus Advisor Recommend GWG L Bonds?

At least one current or former customer of Centaurus Financial advisor Chris Haberl (CRD# 2279941) is listed as a creditor for investments in GWG L bonds, according to public records. Filed with a bankruptcy court in Texas, these records disclose investments totaling $90,000. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show that he is a broker and an investment advisor based in Huntington Beach, California.

As the Wall Street Journal reported in April 2022, GWG Holdings is a Dallas, Texas-based financial that raised more than $1 billion from investors in its product known as L bonds, “which pooled money from bond investors to purchase life-insurance policies on the secondary market.” The payouts issued when policyholders died were reportedly used to repay the debts. According to a report by The DI Wire, GWG disclosed its bankruptcy filings last year that it was being probed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was specifically investigating “how bonds were sold by brokers.” More information on GWG L bonds, and whether they were unsuitable investments for some investors, is available here.

Mr. Haberl’s BrokerCheck report discloses one investor complaint that reached settlement. Filed in 1995, the complaint alleged that as a representative of Pacific Coast Financial Securities, he misrepresented and recommended an unsuitable investment. In 1996 the complaint reached a settlement of $21,396.

According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Chris Haberl holds 30 years of securities industry experience. Based in Huntington Beach, California, he has been a broker and an investment advisor with Centaurus Financial since 2013. His past registrations include LPL Financial (Huntington Beach, California; 1995-2013), Securities America (La Vista, Nebraska; 1995), Pacific Coast Financial Securities (1992-1995), and Thomas James Associates (Rochester, New York; 1992-1993). His credentials include the passage of four securities industry qualifying exams: the General Securities Principal Examination, or Series 24; the General Securities Representative Examination, or Series 7; the Securities Industry Essentials Examination, or SIE; and the Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination, or Series 63. He is licensed in Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington. (Information current as of June 23, 2023.)

Carlson Law has represented at least nine investors in claims against their financial advisors for investments in GWG Holdings Inc. If you or a loved one have suffered investment losses, please call us at 888-976-6111 or complete our contact form for a free and confidential consultation.